Bastards of Blogging

I’m going to forgo the Texas music for a couple more days and reach back about 25 years for today’s post.

I’m sure The Replacements need no sort of introduction. The band came out of Minneapolis, formed by Bob Stinson, his brother Tommy Stinson, and Chris Mars. Paul Westerberg joined a short time later. The rest, as my grandfather used to say, is history. According to The ‘Mats’ Wiki entry, “The band then took the name The Impediments for its first show, which was at a halfway house, but they were kicked out for being drunk. The person who booked them vowed to have them blacklisted in Minneapolis-St. Paul, so they quickly changed their name to The Replacements.”

Their early live shows were legendary, with the band often too drunk to remember their own songs, so they’d veer into cover songs, with varying levels of success. In a 1986 interview with Creem magazine, the band discussed, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, drinking before and during shows:
Tommy: Sometimes it takes a drink to loosen up, to just be able to say "OK, this feels weird, but..."
Paul: And if it’s a small crowd, it helps sometimes because you see double - and then you can fill the joint.

Two-thirds of today’s stuff comes from Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, The Replacements’ 1981 debut album. “Waitress In The Sky,” which was released in 1985 on Tim, comes from what I think was The Replacements’ last show: July 4, 1991, in Chicago. It’s one of my favorite songs, and one I think about every time I get attitude from a flight attendant. Especially a male one. (No offense if anyone reading this is a male flight attendant.)

Takin’ A Ride.mp3
I’m In Trouble.mp3
Waitress In The Sky (live).mp3

posted by aikin @ 7:18 PM